Greek universities are notorious for over-covering the student's needs for theoretical knowledge and lacking severely in applied knowledge.

In an effort to change my immediate environment more to my liking, I have started, with a friend of mine, an Electronics Club, withing the university boundaries.
We 've been operating for almost a year now, and numbers were sadly low. Only 3 members out of a 1000+ student base attend the weekly meetings and pursue a project.

So, last week, we tried something different. I posted a poll on Facebook and the busy school forum with 6 possible lecture subjects. 3 practical (sensor calibration etc) and 3 purely theoretical.

70 people in total voted for a week. 32 declared that they preferred "The life of a project: from the idea to the product". Too theoretical for my liking, but okay, that's what the people want.

I sit for 7 hours, writing a 2000 word, half hour lecture, with a 30 slide accompanying presentation and even rehearse it.

Do you know how many people showed up? 0. 0! ZERO!
Except for the 3 people that came to continue building their project and didn't need to listen to it anyway.

I really cannot understand how an EE student doesn't want to get involved in projects and designing/building procedures. I 'm starting to feel resentment and irritation towards my university environment and I include the whole of it, both students, professors and other involved members.
Of course there are exceptions and I 'm glad I know them, but they can't compensate.

Many of these are kids still just kids. Theres a reason there calling our upcoming graduates the dumbest generation to have ever lived. Really your results don't surprise me. Many university kids are their to goto school in the day and party all night. Realize you have a love for electronics, they just want to learn if for a job so long as it doesn't interfere with happy hour. You'll be a better employee because of it.

Greek universities are notorious for over-covering the student's needs for theoretical knowledge and lacking severely in applied knowledge.

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Change "Greek" to "ALL"

The University system all over the world is like that. "Again" reminds me of this.. Supposed MIT graduates can't even light up a light bulb given a bulb/single piece of wire and a battery.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ve23i5K334
Real or fake I'm not sure.. But no matter what is far more real than fake as a whole. Some companies won't even look at new graduates as we know they might be "book smart" but "common sense/real world knowledge" is usually lacking.

I sit for 7 hours, writing a 2000 word, half hour lecture, with a 30 slide accompanying presentation and even rehearse it.

Do you know how many people showed up? 0. 0! ZERO!
Except for the 3 people that came to continue building their project and didn't need to listen to it anyway.

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That sucks, I'm sorry to hear it. It's good to know, at least, some people that actually care.

I felt very similar, Geo. I remember I had mentioned soldering in casual conversation and the person I was talking to said, "What's that?". I spent the rest of the afternoon asking my peers if they knew what it was. Most of them knew what it was, but had never done it. The exception were a few of the more enthusiastic people that taught themselves in order to make their own projects outside of school.

I went to a school who's mantra was, "Learn by doing". We had to apply the theory in an associated lab. Instead of, "This is Verilog/VHDL", we had, "Go make a fuzzy logic controller implemented in a FPGA". It was hard work, but when I compare the practical knowledge I got from school versus a friend that went to another school, well, simply knowing what a FPGA is and how to use it is an advantage.

It seems like some people are only in the field because they hear that we are paid well...
I have a cousin that decided that he wanted to be an EE, after I finished my BS, and kept asking me things like , "How much money do you make?" and "How much work do you have to do in a typical day?". The fact is, he's lazy and doesn't care about EE, he just wants to make a lot of money. I recommended he go for a business degree

Tschuck your friend made a bad call. Recently of the top degrees, engineering was ranked lowest paid vs highest amount of education needed + It was also ranked as the highest degree you will have to do extra work to do. So to become a Dr. You'll make X amount for X years in school, and in school you will spend + 20 hours a week studying or reading. Engineering Had the lowest pay, vs longest schooling, and the highest homework of all degree's. I think this is because as I learned a while ago some people with all the schooling in the world will just never get it. And there is so much too learn you could spend a lifetime studying and still not know 50% of it.

I really cannot understand how an EE student doesn't want to get involved in projects and designing/building procedures.

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Well, in my case, there are a number of reasons.

Firstly, there's basically no money in the "pot" where I go. If a student is to conceive a project of some sort it will more or less come out of their own pocket. The amount of times I've been told I'm "crazy" for the money I've spent on projects is unreal.

Secondly, a lot of students in my group are only interested in the managerial side of the coin to a project. Thus, because of the nomenclature "project management," it's immaterial if one decides to build such. Not that I entirely agree with this. As far as I'm concerned, a design and build seperates the men from the boys; in other words can you engineer or not?

Finally, a lot of students on my course are work placements. They've got a job, all they have to do is pass with minimum effort and in return they get to keep their job. They're earnin' money, that's all they care about. Hardly enthusiastic about the discipline to say the least.

On the flip side, I 'm seeing a lot of new, small companies doing medium level UAV work and this gets my spirits high.

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Unfortunately from what I've researched its pretty much a flooded market now, especially with the small and medium UAV's. Its gotten to be like electronics recycling. People with money saw it coming and jumped the gun.

Tschuck your friend made a bad call. Recently of the top degrees, engineering was ranked lowest paid vs highest amount of education needed + It was also ranked as the highest degree you will have to do extra work to do.

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Getting paid to do something you love while still in the top highest paid professions doesn't sound like a bad deal to me

Because many western kids have everything paid for and are just going thru the motions to get a job from their dad or dads partner when they graduate. The ones actually going at it alone with no parental support will be the ones you see in the library all the time, studying off campus, etc because they know they gotta be better then the mng'ers kid to get the job. In FL being a self made man means you goto HS and get a new mustang when you turn 16. Then Dad sets you up in a house or condo where you school is for 4 years so you pay no rent or bills. Then you graduate and take that job offer from pops or he gives you $200k to start your new firm. Bang your a self made successful Floridian.

Because many western kids have everything paid for and are just going thru the motions to get a job from their dad or dads partner when they graduate. The ones actually going at it alone with no parental support will be the ones you see in the library all the time, studying off campus, etc because they know they gotta be better then the mng'ers kid to get the job. In FL being a self made man means you goto HS and get a new mustang when you turn 16. Then Dad sets you up in a house or condo where you school is for 4 years so you pay no rent or bills. Then you graduate and take that job offer from pops or he gives you $200k to start your new firm. Bang your a self made successful Floridian.